Our View: Helpful Friendship Housing Center needs support now

May 31, 2013

Needs in our community are wide-spread, and there are plenty of worthy organizations and causes that would benefit from financial donations.

No service is in a more dire situation than the Friendship Housing Center, which is hanging by a thread and is in severe jeopardy of closing its doors, according to executive director Marilyn Kaczanowski.

“We’ve managed to squeak by, but we are at the point where we just can’t squeak any more,” Kaczanowski said.

We may not realize or see it every day, but there are many people in dire straits, even in this small resort community.

Since it opened in 1991, the center has served a segment of our community in severe need, not only providing shelter, but also resources to help homeless individuals and families find stability in their lives.

In 2012, the center served 286 clients and often has to turn down potential clients because there is a lack of room. In other words, the need isn’t going away.

What has gone away is much of the center’s funding pool. National and state funding is on the decline, as are the private donations the center has always leaned upon.

It’s scary to think what will happen to this vulnerable group of the community if the Friendship Housing Center is no longer. That is why it is ever important to consider donating to it. This is a community that cares, and supporting the Friendship Housing Center is an absolute form of taking care of your neighbors.